NZ Warriors 2021 Round 12 Review: Second half comeback not enough as Warriors pipped at the post

After round 11's victory over the Tigers, the Warriors journeyed to Queensland Country Bank Stadium to face the Cowboys. I was confident that the Warriors would come away with the much-needed two points. Still, that confidence was dampened with yet another slow start before the Warriors sprung to life, taking the lead before failing to close out the match, allowing the Cowboys to steal victory from the jaws of defeat with a near 40-metre field goal to see the Warriors lose 29-28.

Man, this game was a stressful watch. The Warriors wasted little time, scoring in the 2nd minute through Euan Aitken; but the Cowboys responded with authority, scoring four tries at a rapid pace via Kyle Feldt, Murray Taulagi, Jake Clifford and Scott Drinkwater; during this scoring spree, the Warriors lost Jazz Tevaga to the sin-bin, this saw the Cowboys go into the break with a 22-6 lead. The Warriors came out firing in the second half, with Aitken crossing for his second try; this was followed by a fantastic length of the field try by rookie Reece Walsh. Momentum appeared to have swung, with the Warriors scoring another two tries through Marcelo Montoya and Ben Murdoch-Masila to take the lead into the final 15 minutes of the match. The match got very tense, and the scores were levelled once again in the 75th minute when the Cowboys scored through Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who ran from inside his own 20 metres. The Warriors attempted a field goal with the clock ticking down but shanked it to the left before the Cowboys surged their way down the field before Valentine Holmes slotted the match-winning field goal from almost 40 metres out.

It was disappointing to see the Warriors let victory slip out of their grasp, they had a great shot at going into the bye round with a 6-6 record, but some lacklustre efforts from the pack and questionable game management was what sealed the Warriors fate here. The bye round could not have come at a better time as the Warriors have plenty of work to do as we head into the business end of the season.

There wasn't much for me to smile about, but it wasn't all doom and gloom, which leads to my positive from the match.

Match Positive

I really only have one positive, and that was the Warriors second-half comeback. Being down 22-6 at halftime, I thought the Warriors were toast. However, they came out of the sheds with an attacking mindset and showed how dangerous they can be with the ball in hand. They just need to play like that for 80 minutes and get the ball into the right hands when the game is in the line.

There was plenty of things that troubled me, which leads to my negatives from the match.

Match Negatives

That slow start was brutal, we have seen the Warriors allow teams to run rampant in patches in games, and if they want to make the playoffs, they need to start matches switched on. This competition is so close; any team on their day can give you trouble, so allowing them to run up an early lead will only lead to misery as you cannot rely on massive comeback attempts to get you out of jail every time.

The Warriors game management when the scores were level in the final minutes was some of the worst I have seen in some time. They were gifted a scrum deep in the Cowboys RedZone, and I thought they would have tried to slot a field goal right from there, but they decided to try some one-out runs before rushing a shot on the last tackle. I know plenty of people are throwing blame at Chanel Harris-Tavita, but he is still young and learning his craft; this will be a valuable lesson for the young half. There were other experienced players who needed to speak up and get an attack plan in motion. This was the second last-minute field-goal loss the Warriors have suffered this season, and hopefully, it will be the last.

The Warriors discipline was poor yet again. 4 penalties, 1 ruck infringement, 3 players placed on report and Tevaga's sin-bin. Now, while in the past Tevaga's late tackle would not have been a sin-bin, it was still a brain explosion of epic proportions. The way the game is now, everyone is watching for any slight indiscretion, so the Warriors need to make sure their noses are extra clean. They are not a dirty team by any means, so it shouldn't be hard; just leave the brain explosions at the door, Jazz. 

The forwards struggled to make a dent in the cowboys line with no forward running over 100 metres. The closest were Ben Murdoch-Masila (86 metres), Leeson Ah Mau (85 metres) and Tohu Harris (84 metres). It may be a cliche, but if the Warriors forwards don't bend the line, the halves do not get the time and space to get the backline into attacking situations. Addin Fonua-Blake should be back after this weeks bye; he should help the pack immensely, but he still needs help from the rest of the pack.

Lastly, the Warriors interchange rotation leaves plenty to be desired. I just don't understand the thought process. Elisea Katoa clearly struggled in the backend of the first half, but they didn't bring BMM on. The front-rowers also had limited minutes, with Jamayne Taunoa-Brown playing 34 minutes, Kane Evans (25 minutes) and Bunty Afoa only getting 17 minutes. If Nathan Brown sorts his interchange out, we may see the Warriors lapses in games subside.

Warrior of the match

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Once again, my Warrior of the match goes to Reece Walsh.

It's the third week in a row for Walsh, and yet again, he was head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates. He lead the side in running metres (227), had a hand in several of the Warriors tries and scored a highlight-reel worthy try himself. He still had some poor defensive reads and was battered and bruised with the Cowboys targeting him heavily, but to his credit, he just kept dusting himself off. He is young and inexperienced, but he has grown so much already, and I cant wait to see the superstar he will become.

Warrior to Improve

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My Warriors to improve this week is Adam Pompey. 

He runs strong but, as a centre, fails to pass to his winger and consistently looks lost on defence. I have said and will continue to say that Pompey needs to be shifted to the wing. I think he would deliver a lot more for the Warriors there instead of staying in the centres to become the next Solomone Kata.

Bye Week thoughts

Round 13 is the bye week, so no game for me to predict. It hasn't been the greatest start for the Warriors, but they are still in the race for the top-eight, so all is not lost. The Warriors can rest their bodies, welcome back some injured stars and spend the week working on the issues that I have brought up in my match negatives. Round 14 will be a tough match straight after the bye having to face the Storm. The Warriors will be without Reece Walsh after he is set to miss a week due to suspension. This makes me less confident than I already was, but after that clash, there are a series of winnable matchups which the Warriors will need to nail if they want to keep their playoffs hopes alive. With no game to review this weekend, it means that next week will be my midseason review, so if there is anything specific that you would like me to go over in my review, let me know.

So that was a heartbreaking Round 12, and as usual, I will leave you with some questions.

How optimistic are you for the second half of the season?

Who was your player to improve?

What changes would you make for the Storm clash?

With Walsh set to miss a game, what changes to the backline would you make?